What have you learnt from the RegisterFly saga?

1. DON'T trust a registrar just because they are ICANN-accredited. It's actually easier than you think to become accredited (by e.g. buying out an existing but semi-defunct "registrar"). Don't expect every registrar to be operating from an office in the business district and with more than a handful of full time staffers.

2. DON'T use that so-called "private" registration thing, unless you don't want people to know you own one of those birds and bees domains. It's a double-edged sword to say the least.

3 ...

3. Don't use the word "fly" in your name. Makes it too easy for folks to make jokes about how much you stink. ;)

3 ) Try to get a Credit card only for HOST- DOMAINS emergencys, with credit capable to renew all domains for 1.5 years - is helpful.

4 ) Get in your private records the auth code as soon as possible.

5 ) check regularly in external whois, you are the owner with a right email address.

6) Be wary of registrars that spend company funds on Penthouses, Escalades and Liposuctions. However, as everyone knows, the Escort services were legitimate business expenses. ;)

6a ) Have caution is the escort is the same sex of the user. Can get strange things to non open minds.

6b) In such case that the escort IS the same sex as the user, terminate program immediately :)

6c If escort is female, the Registrar can get karma points if share photos =P

7. Don't buy domains from Resellers. Enom did not step in to help RegFly customers (with domains at Enom) until it was too late. Registrars often pass on customer complaints back to the Reseller. A Reseller just adds an additional level of responsibility-deniability and passing-the-buck. Buy domains directly from legal-entity & well established registrars.

8. Fire the troublemakers and remove them from the offices.

9. ICANN is not a powerful as once thought do not expect them to bail you out as a last resort.

9. Hope for the best, expect the worst, prepare as much as you can.

10. At the second signs of trouble, bail out.

11) Mighty warrior make sure he/she zip the fly ;)

11. DON'T wait till the last minute to renew your domain registration. I did that a lot myself in the past, but dare not again, when so many registrars and their resellers these days are less than decent to say the least.

4 ) Get in your private records the auth code as soon as possible.

The authcode for a domain changes periodically and therefore does nto stay the same forever so doing this is pointless.

12 ) TRy have registered in advance for less than 3285 - 365 days, for if u want to transfer to resellerclub then.

AGUK, As far i know the auth code is given when the domain is created or change registrar, no intermediate changes in the domain time with a registrar

12 ) TRy have registered in advance for less than 3285 - 365 days, for if u want to transfer to resellerclub then.

AGUK, As far i know the auth code is given when the domain is created or change registrar, no intermediate changes in the domain time with a registrar

If you request an authcode now and try and use it in 3 months time it is very unlikely it will work. For security reasons they expire and are then regenerated when re-requested.

AGUK, As far i know the auth code is given when the domain is created or change registrar, no intermediate changes in the domain time with a registrar
Not really. Registrars are able to update the auth code ANY TIME. Some of them (like Tucows/OpenSRS) even allow end-users to do so.

1. Renew for 2 or more years at a time when you can (incase you have to bail another registrar you won't be dealing with expire issues).
2. Try to renew all domains you have at once at beginning of the year, it's easier to manage that way - you never forget one when you do them all at once, saves time too and you can bill all your customers at same time for domains once a year.
3. Never use privacy services, if you want the domain whois info. to be private, just get a po box a free gmail email account and and a free j2 telephone/fax number and that's just as good as bieng private.
4. DO note down auth codes with your domains, keep an excel list, check every 3 months for auth code changes. This isn't a guarantee you'll always have up-to-date auth codes but you may have a better chance of getting out having them when in a pinch.
5. ALWAYS list your email as admin, tech, billing, registrant email, make sure of it, keep your records up to date.

fyi...I have managed to get 88 of my domains out of registerfly in last 10 days thanks to me noting my auth codes back in january and renewing all my domains at beginning of year so i had no expire issues, and keeping whois data up-to-date. i am still working on last 22 to get out.